Chris Solari, Detroit Free Press Published 9:22 p.m. ET March 29, 2019 | Updated 12:04 a.m. ET March 30, 2019
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WASHINGTON — It took Michigan State basketball less than 2 minutes to make its presence known to LSU.
Aaron Henry. Boom. Boom.
Cassius Winston. Boom.
It took another 2-minute stretch to put away the Tigers.
Gabe Brown. Winston. Henry. Kenny Goins.
Boom. Boom. Boom. Boom.
The Spartans are heading back to the Elite Eight.
More from Windsor: MSU back where it belongs, on doorstep of Final Four
Henry and Brown combined to drain shot after shot, shredding LSU’s defense and any scouting report it had on the two freshmen. Winston and Matt McQuaid made key plays down the stretch as the Tigers tried to make one final push, but No. 2 seed MSU advanced to Sunday with a 80-63 victory over 3-seed LSU on Friday.
Michigan State forward Aaron Henry gestures after making a 3-pointer against LSU during the first half of an East Regional semifinal in the NCAA tournament in Washington, Friday, March 29, 2019. (Photo: PS, AP)
The Spartans (31-6) get No. 1 seed Duke, which beat Virginia Tech in the other semifinal Friday night, on Sunday at Capital One Arena on CBS at a time to be determined.
Henry scored a career-high 20 points on 9 of 14 shooting, adding eight rebounds and six assists. Brown also had a career game with 15 points, including four 3-pointers.
Winston scored 17 points with eight assists, and Xavier Tillman added 12 points and eight rebounds.
That gives MSU coach Tom Izzo his 10th Elite Eight appearance and a chance for an eighth Final Four berth.
Tremont Waters scored 23 points to lead the Tigers (28-7), who cut MSU’s 17-point lead to four midway through the second half and the Spartans’ 18-point second-half led to 9 with 3:06 to play.
Injury scare
Nick Ward suffered a bone bruise in his left hand and momentarily left Friday's game in the second half, according to the CBS broadcast.
He later returned to the bench.
Ward, who suffered a hairline fracture in the same hand on Feb. 17, fell hard to the ground and suffered the bone bruise with more than 6 minutes left in the half after battling Naz Reid for a rebound.
Officials reviewed the play and assessed a Flagrant-1 foul on Reid because Ward was deemed to be in a vulnerable position during the play.
Ward was shown wincing in pain on the sideline, before being taken to the locker room. He went directly into the X-ray room, according to CBS, and X-rays were negative.
He returned from the locker room moments later, holding his left hand, and could have re-entered the game, CBS reported.
Hot start
LSU won the tip, but it was the best moment of the early part of the first half for the Tigers.
MSU dominated the first 20 minutes, starting with an 8-0 run to open the game. That included five points by Henry, a pull-up jumper after an Xavier Tillman defensive rebound and a 3-pointer after a Goins steal. Winston’s 3-pointer off a nifty pump-fake and kickout pass from McQuaid forced LSU interim coach Tony Benford to call a timeout after just 1:47.
Brown hit a pair of 3-pointers that caught the defense off guard, Winston had three in the opening half, and Tillman added another as MSU went 7 of 17 in the half. Henry, Goins and Tillman also helped the Spartans dominate the taller Tigers on the glass, a 21-10 advantage at the break.
MSU went up by 17 points with 6:19 left on another pull-up jumper from Henry and maintained it with a pair of Ward layups. However, LSU got a 5-0 run capped by a 3-pointer from Waters just before the buzzer to slice the Spartans’ cushion to 40-28 at the break.
Michigan State's Gabe Brown celebrates a 3-point basket during the first half of an East Region semifinal in the NCAA tournament on Friday, March 29, 2019, in Washington. (Photo: Patrick Smith, Getty Images)
Another spurt
The Tigers carried their momentum into the second half, turning to Waters to take over.
The sophomore point guard hit another 3-pointer out of the break, got to the line for a pair of free throws, then picked Winston’s pocket at midcourt for a breakaway layup. LSU opened with the first eight points of the second half to pull within four of MSU.
However, the Spartans responded in kind. And again, it came via the longball.
Another for Brown. A deep jumper from Winston. Henry’s second 3-pointer, then another from Goins.
The lead swelled back to 15. LSU called timeout with 14:34 left.
Henry hopping
The play of 6-foot-6 swingman Henry – who drew Izzo’s ire in the Spartans’ NCAA opener vs. Bradley – provided MSU with a major spark against the deep, athletic Tigers.
Henry flashed confidence shooting with those first two shots, then continued his active attacking on the boards like he did against Minnesota. He grabbed seven rebounds by halftime, five of them on MSU misses as the Spartans pulled down 10 offensive boards for 12 second-chance points to LSU’s seven defensive rebounds at half.
The midrange jumper from the free-throw line extended proved his weapon in attacking LSU’s zone. Henry made 6 of 9 shots by halftime, including a crossover drive around Reid in which he kept his poise and dribble after the ball deflected off Reid’s shin.
In the second half, Henry continued his strong play, attacking the paint and scoring outside. His 3-pointer with 15:12 left was part of a 13-2 run that included 11 straight points and three 3-pointers.
The 6-7 freshman Brown came in early for McQuaid and hit a wide-open 3-pointer with 15:28 left in the half, then another a little more than 30 seconds later. He had nine points in the second half, including two more 3-pointers to finish 5 of 7 from the field.
Contact Chris Solari at csolari@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @chrissolari. Read more on the Michigan State Spartans and sign up for our Spartans newsletter.
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